It's just another simple day in Australia. I'm sitting in my usual café, at my usual table, sipping my usual coffee. The sun is out, and the sky is blue. Nothing seems out of the ordinary.
In about one minute, the waitress is going to come up to me and ask me if I need anything else. I'll consider buying a blueberry muffin, but in the end, I'll say no.
In about ten minutes, I'll take my laptop out of my small carry bag, and scroll through the news. There will be some articles about criminals and court cases. In the bottom left corner of the page, there will also be a short story about another teenage pregnancy. This, along with the dull daily puzzles and predictable cat comic strips.
In about forty five minutes, I'll have finished checking all my social media, and put my laptop away. I'll stand up, push my chair in, and thank the waitress, before exiting the café.
All of this, I know, because it happens everyday.
But then, you walk in.
At first, I don't notice you, but then you ask me if you can borrow the empty chair from my table.
I look up, and the first thing I see are your bright green eyes. I feel as if I'm a miner in Ancient Egypt, seeing emerald for the first time.
My gaze drifts down to your smile. It isn't really a smile. It's more like an angel being limited to a simple facial expression. But nothing about your smile is simple. I get the feeling not many people appreciate your smile all that much.
As my eyes move back up to yours, those brilliant gems, I realise you're staring at me, waiting for me to answer.
"Sure, go ahead." I nod, never once taking my eyes off yours.
Your smile widens, continuing to light up the world, although I wonder to myself how that's even possible.
I notice that there's no one else joining you. Part of me wants to ask if you want to join me, just to free up a table for other couples. At least, that's what I tell myself.
So that's what I do. As if I'm going to bite you, you take a seat opposite me. I tell you to relax, but I don't tell you that I'm just as nervous. You ease up and flash me a thankful smile, not knowing that your smile helped calm me down, too.
We talk for a long time. My usual plans to take out my laptop are thrown out of the window. We talk about you, we talk about me, and we talk about other weird things.
Later that morning, or maybe afternoon, I look down at our cups, and notice they're both empty. I think we both know they were drained out a long time ago.
Slowly, you stand up, and thank me for inviting you to my table. I shake my head, and say it's nothing.
But it's everything.
With a final beam, you walk out of the coffee shop.
A little voice in me tells me to run after you, and ask you for your number. Is that too forward?
But another voice tells me to keep admiring you from afar. Like admiring a painting in a museum. I'm able to view your beauty, and watch your every move. But at the end of the day, I'll go home, leaving you to be only another distant memory.
But, with you, it'll be different. You'll push past the faraway barriers, coming forward and standing yourself alongside the vivid memories in a small part of my mind. It's an empty place in there.
I'm only nineteen. I have all the time in the world to make more memories. That's why, of the many things that happen in my life, I forget most of them.
But, I'll remember you. I won't forget the boy with the scintillating eyes and the dazzling smile, who walked into, not only the coffee shop, but into my life.
This, I know, because it doesn't happen everyday.
